MusicRadar

The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger. Sean Lennon, right, with musical and romantic partner Charlotte Kemp Muhl in Venice, Italy, 2009. © Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis

Sean Lennon comes right out with it: when he first laid eyes on Charlotte Kemp Muhl a few years back, his thoughts revolved around reeling in the comely model as a girlfriend. "But my friend Vincent Gallo said, "She's too wild for you," says Lennon. Kemp Muhl, seated beside Sean, laughs at the obvious absurdity. "Vincent Gallo saying I'm too crazy? The pot calls the kettle black!"

As it turned out, Lennon, 35, the only son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, got more than be bargained for: Kemp Muhl not only become his romantic partner, but she assumed the role of his musical comrade, as well. "I had no idea she had such an incredible voice and could play so many instruments," he says. "I was pleasantly surprised."

Not that their union happened overnight. As Lennon recalls, "We didn't wind up hanging out for a couple of years. We developed our relationship through writing letters, postcards and e-mails, and it made our relationship stronger in the long run. We had actually been dating for a year before I heard her play a song she had written with a friend when they were both children. It was a called Cold Sun, and I was really surprised at how good it was. So I said, 'Well, why don't we try writing some songs together?'

"Then I found a play she wrote when she was seven called The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger, and I said, 'We should start a band with the same name.' She said yes, and that's when we wrote the song The World Was Made For Men together. It turned out to be really fun. Before long, we had written something like 50 songs together, and now we have a band."

Lennon's been in groups before, such as Cibbo Matto, and he's issued albums as a solo artist, but with Kemp Muhl, he seems to have found the perfect foil for his musical impulses. As The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger, the two have just released a haunting album full of acoustic psychedelia meets pastoral English folk called, appropriately enough, Acoustic Sessions. Amidst the duo's lilting harmony vocals, you'll hear accordion, melodica, glockenspiel and various and sundry percussion instruments.

The two promise an electric album soon, but for the moment, MusicRadar thought it was time to sit down with Lennon and Kemp Muhl to find out what makes them click so well.

Do you both write music and lyrics equally? Is there any kind of set collaborative process?

Kemp Muhl: "Yeah, it's a real Vulcan mind meld. It's definitely a game of ping-pong. I like to say that Sean writes all the prepositions, and I write all the adverbs." [laughs]

Lennon: "We try to keep everything very equal in the band. I find that in a lot of creative relationships, if one person dominates or the other person is just a sidekick, it doesn't work. So we collaborate totally, which includes doing the artwork and the decisions we make - all of that."

Charlotte, obviously we're familiar with Sean's musical history, but what about yours? Did you study? Were you in bands?

Kemp Muhl: "Well, I didn't go to Julliard or anything. I'm basically self-taught. When I was younger, I wrote folk songs on a guitar my father gave me. I never pursued music as a career. Lately, though, I've studied a little music theory - not with a teacher, just me and Sean. I've had to wrap my head around things pretty quickly."

You two have mentioned Syd Barrett a a big influence. Any others? I hear a little bit of Simon & Garfunkel in your vocal harmonies.

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